CONFERENCE - The Dreamland Pavilion: Brooklyn and DevelopmentOctober 2-3, 2009, Kingsborough Community College, The City University ofNew YorkCALL FOR PAPERS

How has Brooklyn become what it isâ€"a place of nostalgia, imagination, orfantasy as much as a territorial space, an â€œouter boroughâ€ of New YorkCity? Isnâ€™t it time to assess critically the rapid changes in theborough over the last decade? With tremendous growth comes certaincosts, but how do we evaluate the present moment, poised between Brooklynpast and Brooklyn future? How is â€œdevelopmentâ€ defined differently bydifferent groups in different contexts? Finally, how do Brooklynâ€™sdiverse localities and populations reflect or even shape the future ofNew York, a global metropolis? This conference aims to be a space withinwhich these and other questions will be addressed, discussed, evenanswered. The two-day gathering will combine moderated panels (in bothtraditional academic and roundtable formats), guided visits to localsites, artistic performances and discussion.

We welcome proposals from all relevant academic disciplines, includinghistory, literary studies, political science, geography, and sociology.We are equally interested in proposals from those outside academia,including architects, artists, journalists, activists, urban planners andothers concerned with Brooklyn in particular and urban space in general.

The primary areas we will focus on in the conference are:

--The Arts and Cultural Practices: the boroughâ€™s relationship to film,literature, and the performing arts.--Development Projects: the conflicts and controversies surroundingBrooklynâ€™s most important contemporary development projects,--Demographics and Diversity: the broader forces that have reshapedBrooklynitesâ€™ lives in past and present, including migration, education,housing and urban politics.

Possible topics for panelists to address within these areas couldinclude:

--Renters and homeowners--Decision-making processes--Relationship of arts and culture to neighborhood geography--Case studies of particular neighborhoods--The Atlantic Yards project or Coney Island redevelopment--Dynamics of race and/or ethnicity--Environmental impact of development--Access to local institutions--Privatization and public space

Proposals should be submitted by February 1, 2009 and should include:--A one-page description of your topic--Contact information: Name, position and affiliation, telephone numbers(home and cellphone), mail address and e-mail.

Please email completed proposals to Dr. Rick Armstrong, Department ofEnglish, Kingsborough Community College, City University of New York,at: stephen.armstrong_at_kingsborough.edu.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Eben Wood, Department of EnglishKingsborough Community College, City University of New York2001 Oriental Blvd.Brooklyn, NY 11235(718) 368-5229eben.wood_at_kingsborough.edu

or

Dr. Libby Garland, Department of History, Philosophy, and PoliticalScienceKingsborough Community College, City University of New York2001 Oriental Blvd.Brooklyn, NY 11235(718) 368-5624libby.garland_at_kingsborough.edu